Division of Medical Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada.
Division of Medical Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada; Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria.
Brain Res Bull. 2023 Oct 1;202:110752. doi: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2023.110752. Epub 2023 Aug 29.
Microglia, the central nervous system innate immune cells, play a critical role in maintaining a homeostatic environment in the brain throughout life. These cells exhibit an impressive range of functions and characteristics that help to ensure proper functioning of the brain. Notably, microglia can present differences in their genetic and physical traits, which can be influenced by a range of factors, including age, environmental exposures, disease, and sex. Remarkably, microglia have been found to express receptors for sex hormones, suggesting that these hormones may play a role in modulating microglial behavior and potentially contribute to sex differences. Additionally, sex-chromosomal factors were shown to impact microglial genetics and functioning. In this review, we will examine how microglial responses in homeostasis are impacted by their interaction with sex hormones and sex chromosomes. Specifically, our investigation will focus on examining this interaction from embryonic development to adulthood, and the influence of lifestyle elements on various microglial features, including density and distribution, morphology, transcriptome, and proteome.
小胶质细胞是中枢神经系统的固有免疫细胞，在整个生命周期中对维持大脑的内环境稳定起着至关重要的作用。这些细胞表现出令人印象深刻的功能和特征，有助于确保大脑的正常功能。值得注意的是，小胶质细胞在遗传和物理特征上可能存在差异，这些差异可能受到多种因素的影响，包括年龄、环境暴露、疾病和性别。值得注意的是，已经发现小胶质细胞表达性激素受体，这表明这些激素可能在调节小胶质细胞行为方面发挥作用，并可能导致性别差异。此外，性染色体因素也会影响小胶质细胞的遗传学和功能。在这篇综述中，我们将探讨小胶质细胞在维持内环境稳定中的反应如何受到与性激素和性染色体相互作用的影响。具体来说，我们的研究将集中在从胚胎发育到成年期的这个相互作用，以及生活方式因素对各种小胶质细胞特征的影响，包括密度和分布、形态、转录组和蛋白质组。
